Mike Huckabee Suggests He Could 'Deliver' Law Protecting Opponents Of Gay Marriage

By

Carlos Santoscoy

|
August 13, 2015

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
has strongly suggested that as president he would “deliver” on a
law that protects opponents of marriage equality.

Introduced June 17 by Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, the First
Amendment Defense Act (FADA) seeks to bar federal “discriminatory
action” against those who oppose such unions based on a “religious
belief or moral conviction.”

“The Federal Government shall not
take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially
on the basis that such person believes or acts in a religious belief
or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the
union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly
reserved to such a marriage,” the bill states.

“Yeah, I would sign it,” Huckabee
said. “But I think it's, uh, you know, important for us to note
that when people file a bill, that doesn’t mean it's gonna become
law. A lot of people say I’m gonna file, I’m gonna introduce an
amendment. What’s important is when does it get signed? When does
it become law? We need a President who can shepherd legislation
through. It's one of the reasons that I think somebody who has been
a governor, who has understood the process and the role of getting a
piece of legislation – not introduced, heck, anybody can do that –
can you get it delivered all the way to the point of signature and
law?”

Huckabee added that as president he
would “task the attorney general with the vigorous defense of
people whose religious liberties are being trampled upon.”

“Instead of going out to Oregon and
trying to hurt people like the Kleins, you would send the Justice
Department out there to protect them,” he said, a reference to the
Oregon cake shop owners who have been fined by the state for
violating laws prohibiting discrimination based sexual orientation.
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“This is the first time I've heard
Huckabee clearly endorse FADA, which is emerging as a minimum
criteria for social conservatives concerned about the ongoing misuse
of government power to punish gay marriage dissenters. I'm not
surprised, but I'm very pleased to hear him speak so clearly.”